William Patterson was an influential ship designer and ship builder
The following information is drawn from 'Shipbuilding in the Port of Bristol' except where stated.
He was born in 1795 in poor circumstances in Arbroath, and became the ward of a 'slop seller' in Wapping, London. In 1810 he was apprenticed to Trufitt, a Rotherhithe shipwright, and later became foreman to the steamship builder William Evans.
c.1823 He moved to Bristol, and became assistant to shipowner William Scott when Scott embarked on shipbuilding at East Wapping. Patterson took over the yard in 1830 on the bankruptcy of Scott. Patterson's design flair led to him being asked to build the first steam vessel designed for regular Atlantic passages - the Great Western. This in turn led to his involvement with Brunel's SS Great Britain.
To be continued.....